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Summer Games
Summer Games
Summer Games 2006
2006 will be remembered for a number of reasons. Football immediately springs to mind; but England's predictably disappointing performance in the World Cup is overshadowed by the blazing sunshine that has so far uncharacteristically beamed down across our increasingly scorched and pleasant land. With the world and his wife packing a bucket and spade for the annual two weeks in the sun we at Tiscali Games have selected our pick of the bunch for whiling away a few hours on the beach.
In order to have fun in the sun portable gaming is where it's at. The dominance of Sony's PSP in the handheld market has failed to happen with Nintendo continually upping the ante through originality and innovative gameplay. The DS Lite is the slimmer, trimmed down version of Nintendo's amazing DS system. The DS stands for Dual screen - allowing for a wealth of gameplay possibilities. Either screen is also touch-sensitive, meaning characters on screen will follow touch-screen movement through the use of a stylus - or even the tip of a finger Add wireless capability, a brighter screen allowing for beach gaming fun and a price tag that comes in under three figures and you have what we consider to be the portable gaming platform of the summer.
Prof. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?
Just when gamers thought Nintendo was all about Italian plumbers or over-sized apes the company curves one right out of left-field with this phenomenally successful brain training game (so popular the cheeky Ninty chaps even sent a copy to George Bush for his recent 60th birthday). A renowned Japanese neuroscientist developed a series of quick but challenging exercises designed to energise the brain. The 'game' stimulates your brain and helps train mental awareness and your long-term memory by being used for a few minutes each day - ideal for lazing on the beach!
Everybody knows Mario and his brother Luigi, the moustachioed Italian plumbers who took platform gaming to literally a new level. The duo makes a welcome return to celebrate 20 years in videogames courtesy of New Super Mario Bros. Run, jump and battle enemies through multiple levels in each world o or go head to head with a pal via the wireless connection - there's a ton of fun to be had with this acrobatic, cutsey platformer.
The latest Pixar movie to hit the big screen is Cars - a high-octane adventure comedy where Lightening McQueen must win the coveted Piston Cup Championship. Naturally, the actors are actually cars so expect vocal talent from the likes of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman. The game will feature more than 50 races with players able to assume the role of 10 characters from the film. Expect a fun-filled karting-style title appearing on all major platforms (even next-gen consoles by the end of the year!)
Staying on the subject of computer generated films we have The Ant Bully the multi-platform game of a forthcoming animated movie starring Nicholas Cage. Released in July on the GBA, PS2 and PC the player assumes the role of a small boy who leads an army of ants against an evil gardener intent on wiping out the little guys.
Possibly the most imaginative Nintendo game since somebody first uttered Zelda, Animal Crossing: Wild World is the sequel to the wildly popular GameCube game, Animal Crossing.
In this new portable version players and up to three friends can hang out in the same village and interact in real time - either through wireless LAN or over Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Players move into village, buy a small house and then do whatever they want. Time and seasons pass as they do in the real world, so there will always be something unpredictable happening. Collect or buy items, talk to neighbours, go fishing, catch bugs, dig up treasure or hang out with human friends. If you get bored on the beach then Animal Crossing will make hours pass like minutes.
Completing the hat trick of animated films we have Over The Hedge from Activision. Assuming the roles of RJ the raccoon, Verne the turtle, Hammy the squirrel and Stella the skunk, players turn a suburban neighbourhood loaded with dangerous obstacles and traps into their own personal playground. Numerous puzzles and mini-games keep players busy as they switch between two of the four main characters or engage in two player co-op with friends. One for the younger gamers out there.
Also: More ways to entertain your kids this summer
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